Greetings, I would like to introduce and ask for your support for an aspiring Kickstarter project depicting a game of human space settlement, inspired by and named after “The High Frontier” by Gerard O’Neill. The project is very close to being funded and we need more of these sort of positive space games to increase public visibility to space colonies not unlike scenes of “Interstellar” (not to include any major movie spoilers).

“High Frontier,” a new space settlement simulation game currently in development, allows players to design, build, and manage orbital colonies. The simulation includes realistic effects such as dynamic stability, radiation, and thermodynamics.

Project leader (and SFF member) Joe Strout explains, “We’ve gone to great pains to make the simulation as accurate as possible. In fact work on it has already led to some interesting new insights, such as the advantage of concave endcaps for improved stability.”

However, the real benefit of the game may be in educating and inspiring the next generation of space advocates. Surveys show that 81% of Americans under 30 years old play video games, including 97% of teenagers. High Frontier offers them a game they will love to play, while learning a great deal about space settlements at the same time.

The current version of the game goes as far as building the colony and watching it from the outside; the team is currently working on the next major phase, which will allow users to go inside their settlement to manage buildings and transportation. A KickStarter project is underway to raise funds for all the artwork that internal view will require (http://kck.st/1tAsuQI).

The goals of the High Frontier project are such a perfect fit with Space Frontier Foundation’s objectives, that SFF is offering a free membership to everyone who pledges $25 or more to the project. Existing members are also strongly encouraged to help, as the success of High Frontier will directly support SFF’s mission of opening the space frontier for all.